New Swiss owners plan multimillion pound revamp for Fife Arms Hotel due to reopen in 2018

The new Swiss owners of The Fife Arms Hotel have revealed plans to completely revamp their new acquisition and make it one of the top resorts in Scotland.

Iwan and Manuela Wirth, considered to be two of the world’s most powerful art dealers, are currently rolling out a multimillion pound refurbishment programme at the 19th century hotel in Braemar, before it relaunches in 2018.

The couple, who own galleries and other properties in Zurich, New York, London, Somerset and LA, are promising that when completed, the hotel will offer a five-star experience for visitors and become the ‘heart of the community’.

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Plans for the renovation include reducing the number of bedrooms from 80 to 46, creating a new spa, cocktail bar, restaurant, banquet room and courtyard. The hotel will also include a traditional pub, a library and a 40-seater cinema.

Given the pair’s art connections, the Fife Arms will be adorned with paintings, sculptures and murals from high-profile contemporary artists and developed through the couple’s firm Highland Hospitality.

The new-look Fife Arms is scheduled to open in 2018, after the original building closed at the turn of 2015 to allow for refurbishment.

The hotel’s general manager, Frederica Bertolini, said the firm was now in the process of restoring the Fife Arms into a ‘first-class’ hotel in keeping with the building’s long and fascinating history.